


Out In Space (We Find Our Way)

by Pure_Obsession



Category: Another Life (TV 2019)
Genre: But everyone has their moments, Canon Non-Binary Character, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Gender Dysphoria, Insecurity, Neopronouns, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut, Zayn is very solid in hir identity, just a lil, not a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 18:49:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20971331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pure_Obsession/pseuds/Pure_Obsession
Summary: Zayn and Bernie have made their relationship official. They begin to explore that on the way back to earth, and unsurprisingly, the journey is filled with danger, new discoveries, and maybe even a few allies in the seemingly hopeless fight against the Achaia





	Out In Space (We Find Our Way)

**Author's Note:**

> So, just like anyone and everyone who watched Another Life, I absolutely adore Zayn and Bernie. Also, that bit at the end of episode ten where Zayn is pulling on hir clothes while they run? Perfection. 
> 
> Oh another note, the show goes out of its way to avoid using Zayn's pronouns, but most media seems to use ze and hir, so I'll be using those.

Zayn felt it. Since the moon, maybe even before that. Ze was falling for Bernie, helplessly and completely. When Sasha cut the cooling systems and ze thought Bernie was gone, hir heart had stopped until Bernie's gorgeous eyes opened and he gasped for breath. Zayn swore to not waste this second chance.

And now, here they were, Bernie sucking marks into hir chest, whispering sweet words into hir skin. Everything is intense and hot with that kind of 'we almost died and thus might be our last chance' intensity. Zayn gasps, and throws hir head back as Bernie's teeth find a nipple and he licks over it, pulling lightly with his teeth.

"Fuck! Bernie!" Zayn cries, every nerve on fire. No one has ever affected hir this way before. Not in a long time, at least. They've barely begun and ze's already falling apart. In the part of hir mind that isn't too turned on to be analytical, ze hears that small doctor voice. _Emotional attachment heightens sexual arousal, given your shared trauma it only makes sense to-_

"Hey." Zayn snaps out of it at the gentle voice, looking down to where Bernie sits beneath hir, his thumbs tracing slow circles against hir ribs. "Get out of your head Zayn. Not everything is a problem for you to solve." He says, leaning in to plant gentle kisses on his lover's chest, loving and gentle and_ Bernie_. "Be here, with me? Can you do that? Please?" Zayn nods, determined to feel every moment of this. Here, with this gorgeous, gentle man. 

Zayn leans down and captures his lips again, the intensity and urgency to touch, feel, and kiss back in full force. Ze grinds down against Bernie, punching a low moan out of the man beneath hir. Ze grins and does it again, more deliberate, slow.

"Goddammit Zayn you tease." Bernie pants, his grip on hir side tightening. Ze half expects him to flip them over, to take control of the situation, but he doesn't. As much as he whines, he seems to accept the situation. Interesting. Zayn files it away for later before reaching between them to pull at Bernie's shirt, eager to reveal that skin, no doubt hairy and gorgeous just like the rest of-

Ze stops when a hand lands on hirs, steadying hir movements and stopping them completely. Zayn tilts hir head, confused at the sudden tone change. Bernie has a weird look on his face, somewhere between shame and longing.

"Bernie? Do you want to stop? It's fine if you do, I just-" Bernie cuts hir off

"No! No, no, I want this. I want this more than I want anything. I just...can it stay on?" He asks, eyes sad, thumbs lazily tracing circles against hir ribs, which stand out slightly against hir skin.

Oh. 

That hadn't even occurred to Zayn. Ze was so absorbed in how beautiful ze found Bernie, how badly ze wanted to see and kiss all of him, the thought of his weight hadn't even crossed hir mind. 

To be fair, Bernie wasn't terribly overweight, and by no means weak or unhealthy. He wasn't as toned as the others, and he loved to eat, but it wasn't a disorder or any kind of problem. It was just who he was, which Zayn found as beautiful as his soul. He was kind, caring, and seeing the fear in his eyes made Zayn's heart hurt. Ze absently wondered if a past lover made him insecure about this. 

"Bernie-"

They're cut off by the Klaxons blaring out red alert, high and shrill and absolutely boner-killing. They look at each other before Zayn jumps off his lap, desperately searching for hir clothes on the floor. This discussion can wait, but Zayn is determined not to let it go unaddressed

Ze pulls hir shirt on, grabbing hir hoodie from the ground and taking off out the door, pulling it on as ze runs, Bernie is hot on hir trail, everyone emerging to see what world-ending tragedy is occuring now. 

In the crows nest, they watch in horror as the five Achaia ships rush towards the planet, unable to look away. 

"No, no, please no." Niko mutters, giving a voice to what the entire crew is feeling. Fear. 

It's almost in slow motion, almost too slow to be an entire planet being destroyed. The lush green and blue orb is blown to bits, ripping apart from the inside, spinner off into space and directly for them. 

Everyone is stunned into silence, every mind working overtime, even as they narrowly avoid a collision

Niko gives the order to go home, and they're all more than happy to go, the ship turning earth-ward. It's a small comfort, especially after what they just witnessed. The air is thick, no one knowing what to say.

"Crew meeting. Now." Niko says loudly, jumping up from the flight chair and walking quickly to the command center. They all follow, August sticking close to Javier and Oliver, Cas directly behind Niko, and Beauchamp walking a few steps behind. Bernie and Zayn make up the rear, and William has likely teleported to command already. Everyone is completely silent, slowly following their captain. It's all they can do. She's their leader, she'll fix this like she always does. She has to. 

When they've all assembled, Niko faces the crew, her hands tucked behind her back and feet wide, William a solid presence at her side. She takes a deep breath, licks her lips, and swallows before speaking.

"What we've just witnessed is incredibly disturbing. The Achaia are much more violent than we originally believed. Our act of destroying the artifact on Zakir angered them. It seems that they do not tolerate resistance, and any attempt to rid ourselves of the artifact on Earth will result in total extinction." She pauses, taking a shuddering breath. "So here's what we're gonna do." She's dropped her formal tone, now sounding more scared, more human and vulnerable. No one blames her. "We're gonna go home, we're gonna tell the people of earth that these assholes are not friendly, and if we can't destroy the artifact, we're sure as hell gonna keep everyone away from it, keep those little fuckers out of their heads. And we are going to pray that they haven't already wormed their way into the population by the time we get there. You know your jobs, and if any of you are feeling scared or uneasy, go to Zayn. We're gonna have to make a few pit stops for food, and rationing will be more important than ever." Niko sighs, dropping her head for a moment before looking back to her crew. Her family. "We're gonna do everything we can, and if we go down, it's not going to be without a fight. Dismissed."

Niko turns and walks away, no doubt heading for her quarters. Cas is right behind her. Javier and Oliver exit with August, though their body language is strained and not as comfortable as normal. William blinks away

Zayn and Bernie are left, alone and silent in the command center. 

"Jesus Christ." Zayn whispers, leaning against a wall, eyes fixed on the ceiling. How many Zakir died? Did they suffer? Did the Achaia know they were involved? Would they retaliate against earth for it? 

"Yeah…" Bernie agrees, leaning against the wall next to hir, looking just as lost, the same questions circling in his brain. 

"An entire planet, civilization, species, just...gone." Zayn says, eyes far away, sad. 

Bernie sighs, snaking an arm around hir shoulder and holding hir close. Ze leans into it, grateful for a warm solid body against hirs, grounding and real. Ze breathes in Bernie's scent, sweaty and metallic with a hint of deodorant and shampoo. Clean and dirty at once, much like the man it belongs to. Ze savors it. It's a refreshing thing in this sterile metal box, human and real. 

"Come on, let's go. You're getting stuck in your head again." He whispers gently, dropping his hand to tangle with Zayn's and moving away, leading hir from where ze's all but collapsed against the wall. Ze follows quietly, taking comfort in the casual nature of the gesture, the quiet caring of this man. 

The world is ending, but Zayn can't help but feel like something amazing is beginning. 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this was gonna be like, a short smutty one shot but it had a mind of its own, and Zayn demanded that ze and hir lover get more of a storyline. This is a short first chapter, just to kinda gauge interest and see if anyone really wants to see this continue. 
> 
> I've basically taken it upon myself to pick up where the show left off, and if we get a season two. Well. The writers can kiss my ass I'm impatient and I need more NOW. 
> 
> On a different note, I'm not used to using neopronouns in my writing, I have a few friends who use them but I'm not entirely sure about the rules. So if I'm using them incorrectly, do let me know. I want to represent Zayn and those who share hir identity correctly. 
> 
> And, finally, this fandom seems to be fairly small, I believe the current number of works on the site for this show is 7 (soon to be 8), and most of them are by the same person. So, if there is any desire to see more of this, do let me know.


End file.
